Want To Watch Videos On Your Apple CarPlay? Buy An Aston Martin

Who in their right mind would want to watch video in a car? How could that possibly be safe?

Remember that nearly a century ago, concerned Americans said the same thing about the distractive potential of an AM radio in the dashboard. (Now we’re trying to make sure they’re mandated in every car made in this country.)

The concept of watching video in the cars goes at least as far back as The Jetsons. In reality, the trend has been bubbling under for more than a decade. In that time, we’ve watched “dashboard real estate” seriously grow. Content has been filling those spaces, from metadata to diagnostics to heads-up displays.

So, you knew the idea of watching video in our cars couldn’t be that far off. Oddly enough, the pandemic may have been a catalyst for the video dashboard movement. As more and more of us used our cars as safe sanctuaries from the ravages of COVID, time-spent in cars has become more customized and personalized.

And at the head of the dashboard class has been CarPlay, Apple’s ecosystem that has rapidly grown in both presence and popularity over the past several years. Now, more than one-in-four drivers/passengers ride in a vehicle with CarPlay, a simple way to cut through the confusion the automakers have created by attempting to install their proprietary systems into their head units.

Now, Apple and Google—maker of Android Auto—are pushing their efforts to dominate what happens in vehicles with souped-up systems that will essentially control and operate most other functions in our cars and trucks. In Apple’s case, all bets are on CarPlay Ultra (apparently the “+” was taken by Apple’s streaming video platform).

One of its features revolves around facilitating how consumers listen to their favorite radio stations in the car. I blogged about this several weeks ago (“Turn Up The Radio (If You Can Find It)”), and dashboard expert Roger Lanctot followed up with an illuminating article of his own in LinkedIn, “Apple CarPlay Ultra Gives Radio a Lift.”

As it pertains to broadcast radio, here’s the good news from Apple with its new CarPlay Ultra platform:

“The significance of this innovation is two-fold. Not only does CarPlay create an app icon that provides fully functional all-station access to broadcast radio (analog and digital), it delivers that value proposition using the car’s existing receiver hardware for over-the-air reception without streaming. In other words, Apple is sort of caving on the FM chip issue by enabling over the air reception – albeit still not using the FM chip. By creating a first-ever radio icon, Apple is restoring radio’s front-and-center position in the dash even for smartphone projection devotees.”

(The bolding above is mine.)

The win for radio (and satellite radio BTW) is not having to exit the CarPlay Ultra platform when that urge to listen to WTOP or Preston & Steve happens.

But like most car options, you don’t get just the radio feature from CarPlay Ultra—the system takes over everything from the heating and cooling to yes, video operations. The latter is scheduled to show up with the release of iOS 26, slated to be ready for download in or around September.

According to a new story in The Verge by transportation editor, Andrew J. Hawkins, occupants of a CarPlay Ultra vehicle will be able to project video on their iPhones to the dashboard screen —thankfully, while the car’s not moving.

Why in the world would anyone want this feature you may ask? The waters on video in the dash began to part with the EV movement. Given that a battery recharge might have a duration of 40 minutes or so, that’s more than enough time to watch an episode of Seinfeld or participate in a Zoom call.

At recent CES extravaganzas, video in the dash hardware and software have been on display, from Xperi to Afeela (Sony and Honda’s mashup vehicle) loaded with screens.

At Xperi’s exhibit at CES 2024 in the LVCC’s spacious West Hall, the slogan shown in the photo below underscores how automakers, Tier Ones, and other players in the space are reimagining the in-car entertainment experience, well beyond dashboard audio:

BMW (see below) has been especially bold with their video display innovations, including game projection from phone to screen, as well as the 8K drop-down screen that turns the backseat into a home theater, suitable for viewing action hero movies while you wait for your vehicle to charge up. Or you’re looking for an effective way to keep the kids occupied during the delay.

But the sweeping story in the dashboard video conversation belongs to Apple. Their ability to standardize a process in millions of vehicles overnight—with a software update—can’t be ignored.

With the ability to play video within CarPlay Ultra, however, it may not be that simple. As The Verge’s Hawkins explains, automakers interested in supporting this feature will need to equip their vehicles with AirPlay software. And because video in the dash may be fraught with the potential for driver distraction, they may need to be sold on the notion that video will only be enabled while the vehicle is in “Park.”

So far, the coalition of the Apple CarPlay Ultra willing is limited to just one carmaker:

Aston Martin

Clearly, not as ubiquitous as Camry, Aston Martins aren’t for everybody. The DB12 “Goldfinger Edition” shown at the top of this post has an MSRP near $400,000. (Of course, I’d pick the most expensive one.)

But make no mistake about it, this move by Apple reinforces the idea the in-car experience is fast becoming more visual. Whether it’s the thumbnail metadata graphics powered by Quu in the dash, new heads-up displays on the windshield glass at the driver’s eye level, or the ability to play games, participate in video conferences, or to watch TV and movies, the concept of video in the car is taking flight and could very likely evolve into a trend.

You may have read about that new Quu study that measures attention and recall of dashboard visuals.It is well worth your time to learn the in’s and out’s of how consumers are processing the visuals they’re seeing.  You can download it here.

For producers of video content—whether it’s the new Jurassic Park movie or a newscast from a local TV station—the car is becoming a viewing location they’ve never been able to enjoy or capitalize on.

For radio broadcasters, it’s another reminder the #1 listening location for radio is about to get even more competitive. And even more incentive for radio to “think visually,” whether it’s video streaming the morning show, producing video versions of podcasts, or making “snackable” videos a la TikTok.

If the trend continues, we may be able to relate to those freaked-out radio broadcasters of the 1950s who witnessed television sets take over the living rooms and dens of America, once the province of radio.

The rollout of video in the car promises to be slower, limited—for now—to those who can afford an Aston Martin. But at some point in perhaps the not-so-distant future, we’ll hear that wee voice from the back seat:

“So what’s on TV?”